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once again i must apologise for the amount of time this has taken and a know that i say this every time but bare with me :)

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Chapter 12 ~ Pursuit

The bright sun that rose over Camelot seemed at complete odds with the occupant's mood. People knew what had taken place during the last night, they knew that the King's sister was missing and that Helena had nearly died that same night. So it was rather comforting to here the very familiar cry that echoed around the castle from the King's chambers.

'Merlin!' shouted Arthur for what felt like the hundredth time 'Merlin where the hell are you?' Merlin was supposed to have joined him some hours ago, one to wake him up and two to help him with some ideas with how to proceed. Now thanks to Merlin it was past dawn, if only by an hour, so they had already lost several hours they could have spent making their way towards Morgana. At that moment there was a knock on the door 'Merlin! What the hell are you playing at?' asked Arthur as the door opened. To Arthur's surprise and some what embarrassment Lancelot entered the room 'oh Lancelot sorry I was expecting someone else'

'I can gather that Arthur' said Lancelot looking around.

Arthur immediately knew that something was bothering his friend; Lancelot's heart hadn't been in that jibe at all. 'What is it?' asked Arthur.

Lancelot seemed worried 'you haven't seen Morgause have you? She wasn't there when I woke up'

Arthur frowned and immediately felt worry goring at the edge of his heart; was it a coincidence that both Morgause and Merlin, two people who were arguably the most worried about Morgana, the two people who would easily have been able to slip out unnoticed, were missing? 'No I haven't seen Morgause… you haven't seen Merlin have you? He was meant to join me a few hours ago'

Lancelot shook his head and said slowly 'no I haven't seen Merlin since last night…' he looked at Arthur and murmured 'coincidence?' he didn't sound convinced.

Arthur shook his head and said 'I think we should look for them' Lancelot nodded and the two of them left the room and made their way towards Merlin's room. After briefly checking his room the two friends immediately decided that something was wrong. But it was only after they had spoken to every guard on duty did they really begin to worry.

Arthur took a deep breath and said 'lets check the stables; if there are any horses missing then we can panic'

Lancelot nodded but said nothing; he looked like he was already starting to panic. Together the two friends walked towards the stables and when they got there they found that their question was already answered. There were several, rather puzzled looking guards standing out side. Arthur approached them and asked 'what's the problem here?'

The four guards dipped their heads in acknowledgment of their King before one of them answered 'Sire we were seeing to the horses as you asked us to, to make sure they were all fit for the march today and well…' he glanced at the other guards for support.

Another stepped forwards and said bashfully 'two horses seem to be missing Sire, but all the guards swear that no one left the castle last night'

Arthur sighed, well the people who had taken those horses would have made sure that no one could see them, and said 'don't worry about it… there should still be enough horses for everyone'

He and Lancelot left, making their way slowly back towards the castle 'now can we panic?' asked Lancelot sarcastically

Arthur hesitated 'we need to talk to Helena, she's has to have some idea of what we should do'. Lancelot nodded and the two of them hurried towards Gaius's chambers.

When they reached the wooden door Arthur knocked and pushed it open. Both of them rushed in but stopped when they saw Helena slowly walking around the room. Arthur stared at her and said 'your already better?'

Helena smiled slightly 'I've had a life times training in magic and the healing arts but I'm not quite better… but I should be well enough to come with you to rescue Morgana'

'No way' said Arthur firmly shaking his head 'you are not coming with us'

Helena raised a slender eyebrow 'and you're going to stop me?'

Arthur opened his mouth but then shut it realising that there was no way he could stop Helena from coming with them, she could just turn them all into ants, put them in a box and carry them to their destination if they tried. Helena smiled as his face fell 'don't worry Arthur, I wont do anything stupid. Oh and you might not want to argue, your going to have enough trouble stopping Gwen from coming'

Arthur's eyes opened wide 'Gwen cant come!'

Helena smiled again then said 'what did you want to see me about?'

At that moment it all came rushing back 'Merlin and Morgause are gone!' said Lancelot rising panic in his voice.

Helena frowned then sat down and said in a rather defeated voice 'I can't say I'm exactly surprised'

Arthur frowned 'you mean you knew that they were going to leave?'

Helena smiled wryly 'did you honestly expect them to wait when they found out where Morgana was? They probably waited till we were all asleep'

Arthur was counting on his fingers 'that gives them around six hours head start!'

Helena nodded 'and once they're at a certain point Morgause will be able to teleport them there'

Lancelot frowned 'a certain point?'

'A sorcerer or sorceress can teleport from almost as far away as they like…but only if they have already seen the place they need to get to' she looked from one to the other and winced slightly 'otherwise it can get messy'.

'Morgause hasn't seen this village has she?' asked Arthur slowly 'so they won't be able to teleport there'

Helena nodded 'until the village is in sight or if she has a vision'

Arthur nodded 'right' he turned to Lancelot 'can you get everyone ready to leave within the next few minutes?'

Lancelot nodded and left. Arthur turned back to Helena 'have you seen this village?'

He watched Helena hesitate, then nod slowly, 'I've been there before'

Arthur thought that there was an odd note in her voice but he dismissed it as his imagination 'would you be able to teleport us there?' he asked anxiously

Helena smiled slightly 'don't you remember what happened when Morgause tried teleporting with an injury?' Arthur nodded 'it could have been much worse'

Arthur frowned 'so instead of appearing meters away from where she intended what could have happened?'

Helena grimaced 'she could have ended up with half of herself and Merlin back there and half of them here… it's not a very nice way to die'

For most of the journey so far neither Morgause nor Merlin had spoken to each other. The only sound in the still morning was the constant sound of their horse's hooves hitting the ground, accompanied by the occasional snort. They had ridden towards the southeast in silence, when they needed to change direction or needed to find out where to go they would both look at the map that Merlin had copied and then they would silently move in that direction. Both of them had a similar thought on their minds: Morgana.

Morgause was trying to contact Morgana, she had been since they had left Camelot but it was as if Morgana was blocked from her sight, which was probably Nimueh's handy work. She couldn't stop thinking about her; was Nimueh hurting her? Surly not, Morgause would know if she was. But the thought had crossed her mind more than once that it was possible that she wouldn't know especially if Nimueh had some kind of ward around the ruins. The thought scared her and she still didn't trust herself to speak. The thought that she and Morgana were pregnant also kept crossing her mind… had they done the right thing, keeping it from Lancelot and Merlin? Was she doing the right thing in not telling them still? Could she ever forgive herself if something happened to Morgana?

Merlin couldn't help blaming himself for the fact that Nimueh had gotten her hands on Morgana, he shouldn't have let her go. He should have found some way to make her stay behind even if it had involved tying her in unbreakable ropes. He knew that in a way his guilt was absurd especially considering that Morgause had probably taught Morgana some way to get out of unbreakable chains. He glanced at Morgause now and wondered that if he had asked her whether she would have helped him to stop Morgana from going seeing as she cared for Morgana almost as much as he cared for Morgana.

He turned his head as the sun emerged from behind some clouds; it was already seven hours past dawn and Merlin felt as if they were loosing time; they were still in the forest that surrounded the city. Morgause had already explained to him that she couldn't teleport them anywhere she hadn't seen before but she had suggested that when they stopped to rest she could try scrying the village, using the dream that Morgana had shown Merlin that Merlin had shown Morgause.

Suddenly a thought popped into Merlin's mind and he said slowly 'Morgause… why can't you just teleport us there using the dream Morgana showed me?'

Morgause smiled slightly 'we didn't actually see the village remember Merlin? The only reason we know that there is one there is because of Arthur's map'

'Oh… right' Merlin looked around at the forest, still shrouded in part-darkness, and shuddered 'I've never liked this forest'

Morgause gave him an odd look 'why? There isn't anything to be afraid of'

Merlin raised his eyebrows 'really? Because all the monsters that have ever harmed Camelot have come from here'

Morgause smiled 'I mean for us… its not like you have to hide your magic anymore'

Merlin smiled tightly and looked around 'did Lancelot ever tell you about the griffin that he saved me from?'

'And got injured in the process?' asked Morgause raising an eyebrow 'yes he did, why?'

Merlin shivered again 'that creature was almost impossible to kill…and it came from here' he frowned slightly 'come to think of it I think the Questing Beast came from some where around here'

Morgause said nothing but she glanced around looking slightly nervous. There was a silence again for a few moments before Merlin said 'when do you think this forest will end?'

Morgause smiled and nodded up ahead. Turning his head Merlin saw, not many meters away, the edge of the forest. Merlin smiled sheepishly 'right'

They increased their horse's speed and soon burst though the canopy onto wild hills and plains. Morgause looked around then pointed; there, clearly visible from this distance were the White Mountains. Merlin stared for a moment then said 'I know this place!'

Morgause turned to look at him 'I thought you didn't recognise it from the dream' she said incredulously

Merlin nodded 'I didn't but I do now. This is the route I took to the Isle of the Blessed when I needed to find a cure for the Questing Beast's bite'

Morgause turned and frowned at the mountains 'that's odd…I recognise this place too… I have been here before'

Merlin frowned at her 'would you forget something like that?'

'No' Morgause shook her head 'Nimueh must be stopping me from remembering this place'

'Why would she want to do that?' asked Merlin in some surprise

'Because I think I have seen this village we're going to before, or at least the country side close to it…she wants to slow us down as much as possible'

Merlin frowned as their horses moved forward again 'but that doesn't make any sense; Nimueh wants to drain our magic, she is using Morgana so that we will have no choice but to go to her… so why would she want to delay us?'

'Maybe…' said Morgause slowly 'she doesn't really know how to drain our powers'

There was a silence for a moment as they both contemplated that possibility. Then Merlin said slowly 'so if we can get to Morgana before Nimueh figures out how to take our magic then there is less risk?'

Morgause nodded and said 'if we get there before… which I doubt somehow' she glanced at Merlin who still looked hopeful and smiled slightly. She had decided a while ago that Merlin was still a bit like a young boy despite the heavy burden of his destiny.

At that point her thoughts were confirmed by Merlin saying suddenly 'I'm hungry'

It was so unexpected and so out of touch with the situation that Morgause laughed, a high clear laughter that echoed in the still air around them, then smiled at Merlin who looked slightly surprised 'well I'm sure we can afford to take a rest' she slid gracefully off her horse then lead the great stallion out of the shadows of the trees stopping some yards away and tying its reins to the trunk of a lone tree some way away from the forest.

Merlin joined her and then pulled some of their provisions out of his horse's pack and sat down cross-legged on the ground. Morgause knelt down on her knees a moment later, her cloak covering her so that you could only see a scrap of the red silk dress she was so fond of wearing, her own provisions in her hands. They ate for a while in silence and Merlin was struck suddenly by what he would have thought if someone had told him, no more than around a month ago, that he would be sitting at perfect ease next to Morgause calmly eating breakfast with her. The thought made him smile and he turned to tell Morgause to find something that surprised him. Morgause was still sitting beside him but she had gone ridged, her back completely straight, her eyes wide and unseeing. If it wasn't for the slight breeze that ruffled her golden-blond hair she could have been a statue; a staring, beautiful statue halfway though eating breakfast and with a slight expression of surprise on its face.

Yet Merlin knew that Morgause wasn't a statue and for a second he stared at her in surprise and concern. Then he quickly placed his food on the ground and moved towards his sister-in-law and stretched out his hands towards her and gave her shoulders a small shake. Morgause didn't respond, however, so he called her name, moving his hand across her line of vision. He was starting to panic now, unsure what to do in case he did the wrong thing. Then suddenly, as abruptly as she had frozen, Morgause blinked and gasped, her huge eyes widening still further and pressing her fingers to the bridge of her nose. She looked up at Merlin meeting his concerned, fearful eyes and she smiled 'I'm alright Merlin' she gave her head a little shake trying to clear it and trying to remember exactly what she had just seen.

Merlin, however, sat back on his heals and raised his eyebrows 'really? Cause you didn't look fine a second ago' he said incredulously

Morgause smiled slightly 'you've seen Morgana have a vision before right?' Merlin nodded 'well that was the same except during the day'

Merlin frowned 'I haven't seen Morgana have a vision during the day… what did you see?'

Morgause frowned 'Arthur's on his way, with half the Camelot army and Helena… they haven't stopped riding since they left and they're probably only six hours behind us'

Merlin was on his feet in a second, he had run to the horses untied them and brought them back before Morgause had fully registered that he had even moved. 'Come on!' urged Merlin swinging himself up onto his horse as Morgause rose to her feet 'we can't let them catch up to us, we still have ages before we reach this village, the exact location of which we don't even know!'

Morgause laid a restraining hand on his leg 'Merlin I hadn't finished. There is a bit of good news; I caught a brief glimpse of the village'

Merlin blinked then climbed down again 'oh…right…so we can teleport there?'

Morgause hesitated 'I think I should scry the village first, now that I've seen it it should be relatively easy'

Morgause knelt down on the ground and touched it with her fingertips. Her eyes glowed and the ground slowly sank to form a perfect basin shape on the grassy hillside. Merlin knelt down besides her watching eagerly as he always did when someone else performed magic. Morgause then turned her hand over so that her palm was facing the sky and slowly pulled her hand up, her eyes glowing again. Merlin watched in some surprise when the basin suddenly began to fill with water. 'How are you doing that?' asked the young warlock with interest.

Morgause glanced up at him 'where ever you go there is always moisture in the soil, unless it's a barren wast land. I am simply drawing the water to the surface'. She turned away from Merlin again and stared into the shimmering water.

Merlin watched expectantly, he held no doubt that Morgause would be able to find this village. After a moment Morgause blinked and waved her hand over the water, which sank back into the ground. 'Well? Did you see it?' asked Merlin eagerly

Morgause stood frowning slightly 'yes…but I don't think we can teleport there'

Merlin jumped up and frowned at her 'why on earth not?'

Morgause was frowning 'I think that someone has placed a ward around the village that protects it'

'Protects it' repeated Merlin frowning 'why would Nimueh want to protect it?'

Morgause swung herself up onto her horse and Merlin followed her example 'lets keep moving I will explain on the way'

Merlin nodded and the two of them urged their horses into a quick trot. After a moment Merlin asked 'so why would Nimueh want to protect the village?'

Morgause was frowning 'that's what puzzles me; I don't think it was Nimueh who placed that ward around it'

Merlin stared at her 'what do you mean?'

Morgause sighed 'what I saw… the person I saw… I don't think it was Nimueh'

Merlin frowned at her 'maybe you should show me other wise I don't think I'm going to get it'

Morgause nodded and a flood of images blossomed in Merlin's mind.

The village was small, probably about the same size as his home village; behind it the mountains rose high, beside it a river curved down from the mountains. There was a young woman standing a fare way away from the village with her back to him. The light from the moon shone on long golden brown curly hair and the young woman's tall graceful figure. She raised her bare arms, a startling marble white in the moonlight and began to speak in the language of the Old Religion her voice seemingly familiar. From her hands flowed a clear shimmering substance, which vanished on the night air a few second after it left her fingertips. After several minutes the young woman lowered her arms and turned slightly as two men emerged from the shadows. One of them was young, tall, lean and muscular with tousled brown hair and deep blue eyes. The other was older, probably some where in his late thirty's or early forty's, with dark skin and dark eyes. He was wearing a cloak with its hood thrown back and clearly visible on his neck was the sign that marked him as a druid. The young woman smiled and walked over two the pair and after giving the young, handsome man a hug turned to the druid who said 'is it done?'

The young woman nodded 'your people, our people, along with those normal people that welcome us will be safe from now on… that ward will also guard against the knights of Uther Pendragon; they will not see what we really are'

The druid nodded and turned to face the village 'this place will be a haven during these dark times…and after'

The vision faded and Merlin blinked several times before saying 'well that definitely wasn't Nimueh'

Morgause nodded 'what puzzles me is that the older man is a druid…I've never heard of druids living in villages'

Merlin frowned 'well if there are other villages like the one we just saw and what that sorceress said about being protected was true we probably wouldn't have heard of them'

Morgause nodded 'so should we be worried about this sorceress or not?'

Merlin hesitated 'I don't know, the druids know who I am and I think every one would be thankful to Arthur…it just depends whether or not they're really paranoid about the people who come in and out of their village'

Morgause nodded then after a pause said 'did you recognise the sorceress?'

Merlin shook his head 'I was going to ask you that, some one that powerful was probably tutored by the Priestesses of the Old Religion and since you were trained by them I thought you might know'

Morgause frowned slightly 'I don't remember her…but she looked…we didn't see her face but I feel like I should know who she is'

Merlin frowned at her 'that's odd…I feel the same'

so was it good? did you like it or hate it?

so who do you think the sorceress that cast that protective charm on the village is?

i hope you liked it! Please Review!